In a world
that distinguished clearly between centre and periphery, many artists in the
early 20th century turned to the “untrained” and “primitive” art of
distant cultures for inspiration.

After
breaking with his father and ending up in jail for participating in anarchist riots
in Paris, Ivan Aguéli went to Egypt in 1894, and he lived in Cairo for most of
his remaining life.Four years later, he converted to
Islam.Despite Islam’s prohibition against
depiction – a dilemma he discussed in several texts – he painted landscapes,
palm tree groves and portraits.The City in the Hills is a typical example of how he, as
he describes it, sought the greatest possible simplicity.

Influenced
by the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg, Aguéli devoted himself to studies, translations
and art criticism, writing large parts of the editorial content for the
Italian-Arabic periodical Il Convito,
with the aim of reducing colonialist prejudices against the Arabic peoples.In 1916, he was deported by the British
colonial powers.

Ivan Aguéli only took part in one single exhibition
during his short life, he had other priorities and was uninterested in fame in
the art world.In
hindsight, his practice could be described as being an artist beyond the
prevailing concept of art.